Hidden Truths
by Daine
Summary: Wufei and Sally escape an ambush, but not unhurt. Wufei has to take care of his partner in order for them both to survive, and discovers something about himself in the process.
1. Hidden Truths

Disclaimer: If I owned Gundam Wing, I wouldn't spend hours yelling at the TV screen about what _should_ have happened in a certain episode.

A/N: This fic popped into my head one night and just wouldn't go away until I wrote it. I don't know if it's good or not, and all I've written before is humor, so please be kind in your reviews.

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Hidden Truths

A squirrel watched as a young Chinese boy dropped to the ground. Driven away by the earlier roar of guns and engines, the animal now returned to witness this curious new disturbance to his woods.

The creature watched as the boy looked around. He seemed undecided about something, and unduly nervous. Finally he nodded, and ran back to the huge machine that he had arrived in originally. The squirrel watched in amazement as he rose through the air and disappeared into the giant thing's belly. He was not gone long. A few seconds later, he reappeared, cradling something in his arms. It appeared to be another human being, whom he lay gently on the ground. 

The squirrel inched closer. A whiff of something caught his twitching nostrils. Blood. A smell that had become all too familiar in this woods lately. The person was hurt.

It was then that the boy noticed the squirrel. "Get out of here!" he yelled. The depth of anger, worry, and helplessness in his harsh voice frightened the animal and it fled.

Wufei moaned and rubbed his temples. The battle he had just been in had sapped much of his strength, and he needed his strength now. His attention immediately returned to the comatose figure in front of him.

Sally. Why did she have to be so stubborn? She had insisted on fighting this battle, even after his continued protests, and then…the stupid woman had let herself get surrounded. _Why didn't she call for help? Stupid onna…_he thought for the millionth time since he had picked Sally's crumpled Leo off the ground, conveniently forgetting that _he_ would never call for help, considering it a weakness. He crouched besides her, trying to see how much damage had been done.

**Flashback**

Wufei swung his Gundam around and destroyed another three mobile dolls. This attack had come out of nowhere, from yet another rebel group remaining from the White Fang. The Preventers had been hard pressed for awhile, but at last the enemy's forces were waning. He flew beyond the main fury of battle for a minute to catch his breath and look around. 

__

Good, he thought. Nearly all of the enemy troops had been destroyed or had surrendered. There was only one main group left, and a smaller one off to the side.

He frowned suddenly. The smaller group seemed to be ringing something. He looked closer and…

"Sally!" 

Sally's familiar Leo was under attack from all sides. Wufei felt fury rise in his chest. With a scream of unconfined rage he shot towards the group of enemy suits, demolishing half of them with one swing. He saw the shot towards her a millisecond too late. "Nooo!" he screamed as it smashed into her. The rest of the mobile dolls were goners. Nothing could stand before Wufei's wrath. 

When all the enemy suits were finished, Wufei dropped to the ground beside the fallen Sally Po. He opened her cockpit with insane haste, his heart beating unreasonably fast. In the shadow of his Gundam he couldn't see her clearly and for a moment his heart stopped. Was she…..no, he realized with an incredible sigh of relief. He could see her chest moving up and down. She was alive. He didn't stop to wonder at the strange feeling spreading through him; Sally needed medical attention. He managed to get her into his Gundam by draping her across his lap, and took off into the night.

Well, that's what I have so far. Should I continue? Please review!


	2. Hidden Truths: Conclusion

Disclaimer: Don't own Gundam Wing. Wish I did. 

A/N: I am so, so sorry this part took so long! I was on vacation in North Carolina and didn't even _think _about this fic...but here it is! The conclusion to Hidden Truths! I might write an epilouge, but who knows...Please read and review!

Wufei sighed. This was no time to be beating himself up for what couldn't be changed. Sally needed help, now. He crouched by her side, trying to see what he could do for her. 

The diagnosis was not good. There were deep cuts in her face and body from the shattering glass inside the cockpit, caused by the vicious blow her Leo had taken. She was still unconsious, and Wufei was pretty sure her right arm was broken.

_K'so_, he swore to himself. _Sally_ was the doctor, not him! He only had the barest medical knowledge, from listening to Sally lecture and from his own previous injuries. Sally's lectures would have come in very handy right about then. Too bad he had paid more attention to the sound of her voice then the actual lesson..._Where did that come from, _Wufei wondered as he jerked away from those thoughts. A low moan from Sally brought his mind back to the task at hand.

_First I have to stop the bleeding,_ he thought. But what could he use for bandages? There was nothing around...grimly he realized the only option, ripped off his shirt and looked at it critically. It wasn't exactly in the greatest shape, sweatsoaked and ripped, but what could he do? Suddenly a flash came to him, as he remembered a lesson from just a few days back...funny, it seemed so much longer...

**Flashback**

Wufei was leaning against the wall in the back of the room Sally was using for her lectures. Lady Une had commanded that all soldiers have at least some knowledge of how to take care of themselves, so the hall was completely full. He shut his eyes and listened as Sally spoke.

"When you're in a situation when you are forced to use this emergency medical care, chances are you won't have any medicines or clean bandages to work with. Still, it's extremely important to keep the wound from getting infected. Find some way to clean the wound and if you can, the material you are using for bandaging. if you cannot do these things, it is vital that you make a poultice to prevent infection. A poultice can be made with several common plants and herbs..."

**End Flashback**

Wufei smiled wryly._ She's unconscious and still looking out for herself_..._how fitting_. Abruptly he stood and ran into the woods.

A mere ten minutes later, Wufei was back at Sally's side, crushing the plants he had found between two rocks. _I guess I was payng more attention at Sally's lectures then I thought. And it's a good thing, too. _When he had a thick paste, he began smearing it liberally across the cuts in her body. Most had stopped bleeding, though a few continued on sluggishly, and he noted in relief that they weren't as deep as he had first thought._ I've had much worse,_ he thought. _Still, Sally is a woman, and not as strong..._ Sally had managed to cure him of insulting every woman warrior that breathed (and saved his neck in doing so), but the old habit still came back to him in times of extreme stress. This was defenitely one of those times.

Wufei glanced at his shirt, and tore the cleanest parts into strips. His hands cracked and bled from tearing at the tough fabric, but he ignored the pain. He proceeded to wrap Sally's wounds in his makeshift bandages, pushing his hair out of his face. He had lost his hair tie in battle. (Take a minute to picture this. Wufei, barechested, his hair loose around his shoulders, working feverishly over Sally...ooooh.)

That done, he stood up and for the first time really looked at his surroundings. He was in a small clearing in the woods, barely big enough to hold his Gundam. The woods was as far off from the battlefield as he could go on his limited fuel, but still miles away from Preventers headquarters. His radio was broken, transmissions were down, it was getting dark, and he had absolutely no idea what to do next. 

He stood, helpless, for a few moments before turning back to Sally. If he couldn't do anymore for her medically, he could at least try and make her more comfortable. He had already removed her jacket to see the extent of her injuries; now he rolled it into some sort of pillow for her head. Moving to her other side, he realized one very critical thing he had forgotten: her arm.

"Damn it!" he cursed aloud. How could he have forgotten such an important thing? He ran back into the woods, searching for strong sticks to form a splint.

When he came back, Sally had somehow managed to turn over, endangering her arm and cuts. He straightened her out and examined her arm carefully to find the break and quickly splinted it, ignoring the wave of nausea that swept over him. Not at the break;he had seen much worse, but at the grimace that passed over Sally's face. Instinctively he reached out and stroked her cheek. He hated seeing her in pain..._Stop it, Wufei._

He rocked back on his heels and looked around. It was nearly pitch-black, and he was stranded in the woods with no where to go. He allowed himself a short laugh. Wonderful.

A noise reached his ears, and Wufei looked down. Sally was shivering. A wave of panic swept over him. He had to keep her warm, or she could go into severe shock, maybe even die. A solution reached him immediantly, but he ignored it, searching for another way. Eventually though he had to admit there was no other choice. He laid down on Sally's good side, wrapping an arm around her, and tried to ignore the pounding in his chest._ You're just keeping her warm, Wufei. Nothing more._ Still, he couldn't help but be intoxicated by her nearness, her warmth, just being with her...Wufei shuddered. He had to stop this. Now. Sally was his partner, that was all. of course he cared for her, but not...not in that way. Besides, it's not like she would love him back even if he did...

He very nearly started. Only the memory that Sally was hurt kept him from jumping up. Love? Where had that come from? But as suddenly as the thought had come, so was the knowledge that this was right. He tried pushing it away, but it was impossible. He had wanted this for a long time, falling for her without even realizing it...

He had a feeling he wouldn't be sleeping well tonight.

***

The next morning he woke up, yawning, to become conscious of a warmth next to him. His arms were wrapped around Sally, and it took a moment for him to remember why he was there. _I guess I fell asleep after all. _His thoughts had been moving so fast he didn't think he would, but eventually the exhaustion of the battle and caring for Sally had taken over.

"It's about time you woke up," came a voice next to him.

His eyes shot open. "What?"

His dark eyes met Sally's blue ones. "Sally?"

"Do you see anyone else?" 

"You're awake! I mean...how are are you feeling?"

"Well, considering I have a broken arm, I'm doing very well." He stared up at her wordlessly. "Um, Wufei?"

"What?"

She looked very pointedly down at him. He flushed slightly as he realized that his arms were still around her.He removed them and stood up quickly.

"I had to keep you warm last night, and there were no blankets, and..." Wufei shut up , seeing the amusement in Sally's eyes. He made a valiant attempt to pull himself together, trying to settle back into his oh-so-macho attitude.

"Well, I'm glad you're all right," he said as stiffly as possible.

She laughed. "I was beginning to wonder if you were all right. Do you realize its nearly noon?"

Wufei looked up. Sure enough, the sun was high in the sky. He felt himself turning red once more. To cover he snapped," Well, some of us didn't have the benifit of being unconcious for most of yesterday!" To his dismay his voice sounded much more caring and much less aloof then he had wanted it to.

Sally was quiet for a moment. "Wufei?"

The gentleness in her voice startled him, and he looked down. She smiled.

"Thanks for taking such good care of me." Her tone was soft, gentle, almost shy, and almost without thought he dropped down by her side and looked deeply into her eyes.

A thousand arrogant, sharp replies sprung to his lips, but he shoved them aside. "Don't mention it."

She was as startled as he was at this unexpected answer. But Wufei, acting on some strange instinct, cupped her chin in his hand and looked intently at her. She seemed almost scared, but strangely eager, and moved by some internal command he didn't understand but could not disobey, Wufei lowered his lips to hers...

"Wufei!"

The bullhorn voice rang out above the trees, and Wufei jerked away from Sally, embarrased but at the same time disappointed. He looked up and saw Noin in her Taurus, with a medical plane flying near her. 

"Wufei! Are you down there? We saw your Gundam and..." Wufei moved to a place in the clearing where she could see him. "Oh good! And..is Sally with you?" He smiled wryly at the anxoiusness in her voice. The woman would never be a good warrior if she let her emotions rule her like that...he ignored the voice inside him asking what _he_ had been doing just a few minutes ago. He waved his arms once for _yes_.

"Thank God. Is she hurt?" He waved his arms again. "All right. We'll send a med team down there right away. Just stay put."

He turned back to Sally. She grinned. "Just where did she think we would go?" she asked. But her tone was odd, and she wouldn't quite meet his eyes. He said nothing, and sat down by her side to wait for the meds.

***

When the doctors arrived, they insisted on putting Sally on a stretcher,and no amount of protesting from her that she could walk perfectly fine would convince them otherwise. As they began to wheel her towards the waiting transport, her eyes and Wufei's met for a brief instant. And in that moment, he saw in her gaze-as he knew she saw in his- the hidden truth, that they both knew but were too afraid to say.

Fine.


End file.
